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' J. MAXFIELD.

MECHANICAL GAME 0R PARLOR RAGE 00mm.

Patented June 13, 1882.

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JOHN MAXFIELD, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

MECHANICAL GAME OR PARLOR RACE-COURSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,327, dated June 13, 1882,

Application filed March 8, 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MAXFIELD, of London, England, have invented a new and useful Improved Mechanical Game or Parlor RaceGourse, (for which I have obtained a patent in Great Britain bearing date September 15, 1881, No. 3,980,) of which the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improved mechanical game or parlor race-course on which any number of figures representing equestrianlSlD, pedestrianism, cycling, boating, hunting, or other sports, may be arranged to contest against each other by mechanical devices which may be operated by a number of persons, according to the number or quantity of the figures it is desired to actuate. Each person or operator has one of the said figures under his or her direct and sole control, and in proportion to the number of revolutions imparted to a handle, as hereinafter described, so is the amount of movement given to the figure operated by the said handle through suitable mechanism, hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings I have, by way of example, illustrated my improvements as applied to a circular race-course for horses.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a plan of the said race-course, with a portion of the same broken away to illustrate the mechanism beneath the same; and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on the line 4c 00, Fig. 1.

A represents the race-course, which is provided with a series of concentric slots, B, in each of which the end of an arm or plate, 0, that supports a horse and jockey, D, is adapt ed to revolve or be propelled.

Each plate 0 is attached to or formed on a rod or arm, E, whose inner end is connected to a socket or sleeve arranged upon a vertical spindle or shaft at the center of the race-course, each rod E being connected with a different sleeve, as shown at F F F F. To impart motion to the said sleeves, and consequently to the figures D, mounted on the arms carried thereby, I provide below the said race-course a series of shafts, Gr, each of which, at its outer end, is provided with a crank or handle, G, arranged to be turned by oneof the operators. At the inner end of each of the said shafts is (No model.) Patented in England September 15, 1881, No. 3,980.

a worm, H, which gears with a toothed or worm wheel, I, on its corresponding socket or sleeve, so that when the crank G upon the end of one of the shafts G is revolved the figure which it is designed to actuate will becorrespondingly revolved within its circular slot in the race-course.

In order to support the rings forming the parts of the race-course between the concentric slots B, I prefer to employ rods or bars A*, which are connected at their upper ends, and preferably covered with a metal sheathing, so as to have the appearance of a bridge, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

From the above description it will be readily understood that each horse is independent of the others, and that its movements are efiected and controlled solely by mechanical means. It follows, therefore, that, presuming the horses to be placed at, say, the starting-point on the race-course, and that they are all started simultaneously, and that the handles G are revolved by the operators at the same speed, then the horses will not pass each other; but, providing one of the operators increases the number of revolutions of his crank or handle, then the horse which is actuated by the said handle through the mechanism above described will pass ahead of the other horses, and vice versa. In other words, the same number of revolutions are required to be given to each crank-handle to complete the passage-of a horse around the course irrespective of the distance of such horse from the center of the latter.

Although in the drawings I have shown a circular race-course provided with four concentric slots and four horses, it will be evident that a greater number of such slots and horses may be employed. Moreover, two horses may be arranged to travel around within one slot, instead of one horse only, the horses in all cases being independent of each other in so far as their movement is concerned-that is to say, each horse is operated bya separate crank or handle.

In some cases the race-course may be of other than circular formsuch as straight or oval and mechanism other'than that above described may be employed to impart motion to the figures upon the same without departing from the spirit of my invention. For instance, with a straight race-course I may employ a chain or toothed band for carrying each of the figures along, the said chain or band being actuated by a toothed pinion.

What I claim is 1. The employment, in combination with a race-course, of a series of figures representing equestrianism, pedestrianism, cycling, boating, hunting, or other sports, and adapted to be operated independently of each other by mechanical appliances controlled by a number of different persons or operators.

2. The combination, with the race-course A, provided with the concentric slots B, of the figure-carrying rods or arms E, attached to independent sleeves, the toothed wheels I upon the said sleeves, and the Worms H and cranks or handles G for operating the said toothed wheels independently of each other, all substantially as above set forth.

JOHN MAXFIELD.

Vi messes:

W. RIMELL, T. J. OSMAN, Both Qf17 Gracechm-ch Street, London, E. 0. 

